ICICI, Axis, Mastercard snaps ties with DreamFolks
ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, and Mastercard, are looking to move away from aggregator DreamFolks Services Ltd following “a temporary disruption in services”.
ICICI Bank (IANS)
MUMBAI: Major Indian banks and card networks, including ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, and Mastercard, are looking to move away from aggregator DreamFolks Services Ltd to establish direct partnerships with airport lounge operators, and others also may follow suit, sources said.
On September 22 last year, DreamFolks - a global travel and lifestyle services aggregator that offers lounge access services at several airports - had witnessed “a temporary disruption in services” that led to impact lounge access of thousands of customers of banks and card networks.
Though the issue was resolved the next day, it sent the banks and card networks to explore other alternatives, three sources familiar with the matter said.
Leading the charge are Axis Bank and ICICI Bank as well as Mastercard, they said adding more banks are expected to follow suit. While Axis Bank declined to comment, emails sent to ICICI Bank and Mastercard remained unanswered.
DreamFolk too did not immediately reply to email sent to its investor relations and other emails provided on its website.
DreamFolks, which counts among major airport lounge operators in India, claims to command 90 per cent market share in the country’s domestic lounge access market for debit and credit card holders.
The September disruption saw flyers nationwide facing issues in accessing airport lounges. According to reports, there was a sudden closure of at least 49 lounges across 34 airports in
India.
Such was the extent of the trouble that Travel Food and Services, a food and beverage master franchisee that manages the airport lounge in Kolkata and Chennai, had reportedly threatened legal action against DreamFolks.
Sources said the service disruption led to certain banks, including American Express, transitioning to Adani Digital for lounge access at Adani-operated airports. The disruption triggered lounge airports to directly work with banks to facilitate seamless services to passengers, they said.
Founded in 2013, DreamFolks, a listed entity, is a leading airport services aggregator in India. A significant chunk of its revenues and profits comes from the airport lounges.
